The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-04-13

Finally as to the location. In this re-
spect the Lick telescope will have an adj
vantage of which those who are not
familiar with the working of astronom-
ical instruments can form but q faint
idea. The astronomers worst enemy Is
the atmosphere. Even in the calmest
weather 1t Is source of annoyance and
a stumbling block to him. One can form
some notion of what the trouble is by
looking over heated reach of sands in
the summer or over the top of fiat
stove in which lively fire is burning and
noticing the waving and trembling mo-
ton of the heated air, which twists the
rays of light traversing il into confused
blur. Similar motions and currents pre-
vailing in the atmosphere nearly all the
time are magnitied by the telescope until
their effect is to destroy that sharpness
of vision which is needed in astronom-
ical observations. There are two ways
of getting rid--to some extent, at least
of this annoyance. One way is to plant
your telescope in some part of the world
where an equable climate gives unusual
steadiness to the atmosphere. Another
way is to climb up into high mountain
and set your telescope above the denser
and more troublesome layers of air.
Thirty years ago Piazzi Smyth, the as
tronomer royal for Scotland, made ia
nous experiment which demonstrated
the effectiveness of the last-named expe-
dent. He went to the Canary Islands,
and dragging powerful telescope to the
top of the lofty peak of Teneriffe, set it up
there amid the pumice stone and lava
blocks of that gigantic volcano. The as
Economical world was delighted with the
enthusiastic. description that he brought
back of the exquisite clearness and dis
tinctness of telescope vision upon the
mountain top. Yet il was not easy to
find mountain on which an observatory
could be built, and so astronomers, for
the most part, continued to do the best
they could at the bottom of the aerial
ocean, only aspiring in their hearts to be
inhabitants of the limpid upper air
Now the Lick telescope has all the adj
vantages that come from both high ele-
walton and an equable climate. The OBJ
servatory stands on the summit of a noun
tain 200 feet above the sea level The
climate of that region is delicious; to the
astronomer exquisite. Mr.. Burnham, the
eagle-eyed discoyerer of double stars,
went there to test the seeing qualities of
the Mount Hamilton air and was both
charmed and astonished. New double
apples in an autumn night.
So we see that in every way the great
telescope will possess an advantage over
most Of those now in existence, and in
the matter of size it is, of course, unri-
vailed
Next let us inquire what it will prob
ably show When talking of the pow
ers Of telescopes people naturally think
first of the moon. 1t is the nearest Of
the heavenly bodies, and In some respects
the most interesting. The first celestial
object that Calico turned his telescope
upon was the moon, and the delight that
he expressed at the sight of its plains
and mountains has been felt increasingly
by ali observers since bis time. Every
increase Of the power Of telescopes has
brought to light new details In those
wonderful lunar landscapes. There is a
simple ratio between the magnifying
power Of a telescope and the apparent